As part of National Bullying Prevention Month, Columbia County School District officials are reminding students and families that preventing bullying requires open communication and community involvement year-round.
Associate Superintendent Penny Jackson said bullying can take many forms such as verbal, written, physical, or online — and involves any behavior that makes a student feel threatened, harassed, or intimidated.
“Bullying is anything that’s considered an attempt of any kind to make a threat or inflict injury on someone, and they have the ability to do so,” Jackson said. “It can be a display of force, or it can be verbal, written, or physical. It’s about that person perceiving that it was threatening, harassing, or intimidating.”
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Jackson said schools take every bullying report seriously and work methodically to determine what occurred.
“We start investigating, peeling back the layers of the onion to see if it’s been pervasive, if the student felt threatened, and if there were witnesses,” she said. “We deal with a lot of hearsay, so we have to talk to each person to make sure what was actually said or done before acting accordingly.”
Cyberbullying remains a concern
Jackson said that while restricting cell phone use during the school day has reduced issues on campus, cyberbullying continues to pose challenges outside of school hours.
“Over the last decade, cyberbullying has become a significant part of the problem,” Jackson said. “If an incident happens outside of school and reaches a certain level, we have to involve law enforcement.”
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Encouraging students to speak up
Jackson’s message to students is simple: don’t stay silent.
“I hope students have built a relationship with someone in the building they feel they can open up to,” she said. “They can also report concerns anonymously — some schools have drop boxes or hotlines. The ‘see something, say something’ mindset is so important.”
She said communication is key to protecting students.
“We can’t investigate if we don’t know,” Jackson said. “It’s a shared responsibility within the community. That includes parents — we want them to feel comfortable coming to the school so we can act if concerns are brought to us.”
As Bullying Prevention Month continues, Jackson said the district’s message extends beyond October.
“We need to be aware of this throughout the school year and even during the summer,” she said. “People should always feel supported and know there are options and people who will help.”
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